Two dynamic women composers rooted in jazz join for an evening of raucous and gorgeous improvisation with stellar Bay Area musicians and some special out-of-town visitors. The caravan, led by Angela Wellman and Jessica Jones, also features Afro-Peruvian cajon player Juan Medrano Cotito, vocalist Lori Wellman, Kev Choice on piano, Ayinde Webb on drums, and Amina Scott on bass—plus other special guests TBA!

Tenor saxophonist and pianist (and Berkeley native) Jessica has worked with Joseph Jarman, Cecil Taylor, Steve Coleman, Don Cherry, and Peter Apfelbaum, as well as a variety of Haitian, Caribbean, and African bands. These influences helped form her compositional direction, which is grounded in the jazz tradition while always reaching for new directions and a unique sound. The primary outlet for her compositions for the past two decades has been the Jessica Jones Quartet, founded with her fellow tenor player and husband Tony Jones.

Hailing proudly from Kansas City, Missouri, trombonist Angela has performed with the McCoy Tyner Big Band, Joe Williams, Al Grey, and Slide Hampton. A California Arts Council Artist in Residence in the early 1990s, she served as the Education Director for the Oakland Youth Chorus (OYC) in 1997-2002, during which time she developed the award-winning community music education program, Music in the Schools. She founded the Oakland Public Conservatory of Music in 2005. Her band, New Roots, performs contemporary music, creating new forms, styles, and roots in the Jazz tradition.